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Chapter 13 Bankruptcy · Mesa, AZ
Chapter 13 bankruptcy
in Arizona, explained.
The catch-up chapter: one payment, three to five years, and the collection freeze protecting you the whole way through.
What Chapter 13 actually does
Everything protected, while you catch up.
Chapter 13 gathers what you’re behind on — the mortgage, the car, the taxes — into one court-approved monthly payment over three to five years. Nothing gets foreclosed, repossessed, or garnished while the plan runs.
The protection starts the day the case is filed, and it holds for the whole plan.
United States Bankruptcy Court
District of Arizona
Order — Confirming Chapter 13 Plan
One monthly payment. Protection from the day you file; the plan takes effect at confirmation.
Confirmed
Will this save the house?
Yes. That’s the job.
A Chapter 13 filing stops a foreclosure immediately, and the plan lets you cure the missed payments over time instead of all at once. Same for a vehicle about to be repossessed. If there’s a sale date on your house, the math changes by the day — everything is easier before the date than after it.
Have a sale date already?
One more thing only a 13 can do: if the house is worth less than what’s owed on the first mortgage, a second mortgage can sometimes be removed entirely. It depends on the numbers — more here →
Do I qualify?
Most people who need a 13 qualify for one.
The requirement is steady income to fund the plan — wages, self-employment, a pension, Social Security. Steady is the bar, not big.
Good income, still behind
You earn real money, but the debt got ahead of it anyway. In a 13, that income is the engine of the plan — not a problem to explain.
Equity to protect
You own things worth protecting — real equity in the house, a paid-off truck — and walking away from them isn’t the plan.
Keeping the house, keeping the car
Behind on the mortgage or the car — and keeping them isn’t negotiable.
Not sure where you land? That’s the first call.
What the process looks like
Filed to discharged, in three acts.
Your part
We build the plan
Filed
First payment
The 341 hearing
Confirmed
one payment a month
Your part
We build the plan
Filed
First payment
The 341 hearing
Confirmed
one payment a month
The whole arc
Day one
Filed.
The collection freeze starts that day — foreclosure, garnishment, repossession, all of it stops.
The first few months
The plan gets confirmed.
Your first plan payment starts about a month in, even before it’s official — and the 341 hearing, a short sit-down with the trustee, and the court confirms the plan. I handle the hearings; your part is brief.
The years after
One payment, and life goes on.
You keep making the plan payment, I handle what comes up, and the discharge at the end wipes what’s left.
A note from Mark
“Three to five years is a long time to work with a lawyer you don’t like. Come meet me first.”
Mark Atchley
Bankruptcy & Student Loan Attorney · Mesa, AZ
What it costs
One flat fee. No hourly meter, no surprise invoices, no games.
In Writing
Your fee quote
Fee
Flat
Each case is different. You’ll have your exact number after the first conversation, before anything gets filed.
Affordable payment plans available.
What it covers
What clients say
Real words from real people.
From public reviews, exactly as written.
“Nobody oversold me.”
We spoke to a few Bankruptcy attorneys and some made some things sound too good to be true and although everyone we spoke to were super nice, ultimately we decided to go with Mark because he is very straightforward, very knowledgeable in this process and honest. […] I enjoy the sense of humor as well because this can be a very stressful and scary process. I have not been worried at all due to Mark putting our minds at ease.
Haley W.
“He tried for a 7 first.”
He not only took his time looking at my case, but he tried his best to fit me into a Chapter 7 but ultimately I make a bit too much $ and can only fit into a Chapter 13. Mark was easy to talk to, he had all the answers to my questions, and his Assistant Mary is awesome too!
F.
“Stress-free as a 13 can be.”
Mark, Mary and the team have been nothing but awesome and very knowledgeable! Our chapter 13 has been stress-free as it can be!
Cody C.
The next step is just a phone call
Let's get you caught up.
First conversation’s free, and you’ll leave knowing exactly where you stand.